Insufficient power supply?

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I just purchased a new computer primarily for iRacing. However, I'm experiencing an issue.

Whenever I surf the web (here, Youtube, etc.), it runs fine. Then, when I'm in a lobby spectating/driving on iRacing (when the video card is needed), after a brief time (3 minutes at most) the TV will either turn black or show a black/grey line pattern. I still have audio.

My Video Card is an AMD Radeon 6870 with a power supply of 600 W. Could that be what's causing this?
 
Could be so many things, but I would say power supply may be it. What brand is your power supply? Many of the no-name cheap power supplies don't actually output what they claim.

Try to find a local store or online shop with a good return policy, buy a new power supply, swap it in and see if it helps. Or find a friend willing to loan you their power supply for a couple hours.
 
I can't find anything definitive. But it does look like a low quality power supply and could be the source of the problem.
 
I would run at least 800 W on any gaming rig. I am currently looking to upgrade to an AMD AM3+ and the AMD 7970. I am going to be running 1000W.

The PWS sounds like your problem here. It is also typical for "packaged" computer companies to skimp on them. Like others suggested throw in a friend's PWS and see if it makes a difference. If that doesn't help begin testing your video card itself. Of course, it goes without saying really, make sure you have the latest drivers.
 
Hey

Sounds to me more, as if you got a problem in your GPU.
600 W for the PSU is not much, but should be sufficient to run the system.
Can you give a complete system setup, and how the system is connected to the TV !?
 
Spike125
Hey

Sounds to me more, as if you got a problem in your GPU.
600 W for the PSU is not much, but should be sufficient to run the system.
Can you give a complete system setup, and how the system is connected to the TV !?
Click to expand...

Well, here's the specs:

INTEL I5-2500K 3.30 GHZ 6M LGA 1155
60 GB OCZ AGILITY 3 SATA III SSD
KINGSTON HYPER-X 4 GB DDR3/ 1600 MHZ
ASETEK 510LC120MM WATERCOOLER
CASE FAN 120 MM
BLACK COOLERMASTER ELITE 430 W/WINDOW NO POWER
BLACK LITE-ON 24X DVDRW
12-IN-ONE INTERNAL CARD READER
GIGABYTE Z68AP-D3 INTEL Z68 CROSFIRE DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 WITH MSATA CONNECTOR ONBOARD LGA 1155
AMD RADEON HD6870 1GB DDR5 PICE
XTREMEGEAR 700 WATT POWER SUPPLY

It's connected to my TV via HDMI. And as you can see, I'm actually running on 700 watts.
 
I have an FX-8120 CPU and the HD 6950. Though my system runs on this power supply. You can easily run a good 500 watt PSU with my setup(card recommends a 500watt PSU with the other system parts).
 
nick09
I have an FX-8120 CPU and the HD 6950. Though my system runs on this power supply. You can easily run a good 500 watt PSU with my setup(card recommends a 500watt PSU with the other system parts).
Click to expand...

Mine recommended 700 watts, which is what I'm running on. Keep in mind I know little to nothing on computer technology.
 
iRevelationz
Mine recommended 700 watts, which is what I'm running on. Keep in mind I know little to nothing on computer technology.
Click to expand...

I will. If you search the "HD 6870", click the AMD website link, and then the "System Requirements" tab. It tells you the recommended wattage for a whole system with the card and another recommended wattage of the whole system with crossfired cards.
 
nick09
I will. If you search the "HD 6870", click the AMD website link, and then the "System Requirements" tab. It tells you the recommended wattage for a whole system with the card and another recommended wattage of the whole system with crossfired cards.
Click to expand...

Judging from this, my power supply shouldn't be the issue.
 
I don't think your PSU is the problem, even with the watercooling which I presume you have inside.
I was running a much harder setup on a 850W PSU.
Try to connect the system to a regular monitor, set it to the right resolution and run a race.
But only connect the monitor, not the TV additional.
If it also gives your problems let me know.
 
iRevelationz
Judging from this, my power supply shouldn't be the issue.
Click to expand...

I would not be quick to say that the PSU is not the problem. Read a little online that the power supplies are poor for what they are. I would try making an rma with cyberpower first before you try changing any other parts.
 
I would also not recommend to change any parts by yourself if the system is still under warranty.
But before an RMA you should at least exclude some basic things.

That's why the system should run first on a standard monitor, to ensure that it's not an HDMI bug or a resolution issue.
After that you can run some simple hardware tests under windows, and as a last thing RMA.
And besides usually a PSU problem gives you freezes and sudden restarts (had it already a few times).
But on the other hand, on a PC everything is possible ;)
 
What happens after "the TV will either turn black or show a black/grey line pattern"?
 
Pako
What happens after "the TV will either turn black or show a black/grey line pattern"?
Click to expand...

Typically, nothing. I'll be staring at said screen with audio.

I just tried it again, and something a little different happened. After about 2 minutes, the screen did it's usual black/grey deal, but briefly came back on for a few seconds. There was a bit of screen tearing, as from the brief glance I got, the truck appeared to be driving through the track (iRacing) Then, it went out again, but the grey lines were replaced by red.

That was about 5 minutes ago. Still staring at it.

And, I don't believe my new computer is compatible with my current monitor.
 
Does your current monitor have a VGA input? If you have a DVI to VGA adapter you can use that to test. Another thing you could test is a different HDMI cable. If none of these work then I would contact CyberPower about the PSU or graphics card.
 
nick09
Does your current monitor have a VGA input? If you have a DVI to VGA adapter you can use that to test. Another thing you could test is a different HDMI cable. If none of these work then I would contact CyberPower about the PSU or graphics card.
Click to expand...

Yes, don't have one sadly, tried it, contacted them Saturday. Awaiting for a reply. :)
 
700w isn't always 700w.
Your psu only has a max of 480w and 38A(I'm pretty sure these numbers are exaggerated by the MFR) combined on both +12v rails. Those are specs that an average ~500w psu surpasses.
Get a new PSU. Tell the shop you got it from, you want to upgrade to something that isn't a complete POS.
 
iRevelationz
Typically, nothing. I'll be staring at said screen with audio.

I just tried it again, and something a little different happened. After about 2 minutes, the screen did it's usual black/grey deal, but briefly came back on for a few seconds. There was a bit of screen tearing, as from the brief glance I got, the truck appeared to be driving through the track (iRacing) Then, it went out again, but the grey lines were replaced by red.

That was about 5 minutes ago. Still staring at it.

And, I don't believe my new computer is compatible with my current monitor.
Click to expand...

Well certainly going to full screen 3D graphics mode there is more resources getting used.

1.) Have you tried a different game or graphics test? If not, you could even try some of ATI's graphic's demos for example to see how the computer responds.

2.) Do you have a different monitor to try with non-HDMI inputs?

BTW - My guess is that it's the graphics card or graphic's card related, not the PSU. Any PSU related issues I have had in the past results in weird lockups and hardware failure BSOD issues. I would try some of the above things just to eliminate some of the possible issues you may be having. How's your temps? I haven't ran ATI is some time, but there maybe some thermo protection going on that is shutting down the 3D acceleration on the card if it's getting to hot. This is ALL speculation, but thought I'd throw some idea's your way.
 
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Pako
Well certainly going to full screen 3D graphics mode there is more resources getting used.

1.) Have you tried a different game or graphics test? If not, you could even try some of ATI's graphic's demos for example to see how the computer responds.

2.) Do you have a different monitor to try with non-HDMI inputs?
Click to expand...
This is way off topic but holy crap its PAKO!!! Where the heck have you been for the last year or so!!????
 
camaroboy69
this is way off topic but holy crap its pako!!! Where the heck have you been for the last year or so!!????
Click to expand...

:D Wassup mang??? Perhaps I should re-introduce myself in the "Introduction" thread.
(assuming it's still around here....;))
 
There would be the possibility that the power to your GPU is insufficient, but the power to the other components is fine.

I had a similar problem when I overclocked my GPU via ati overdrive, after a couple of minutes the screen went all black (Not a lost signal otherwise my TV would have recognised it and brought up the 'no signal cable detected' error, it just went black as if this is what the computer was transmitting), but I still got audio. I believe that was an issue with it being unstable due to the voltages not being right for the clock speed (As experienced OCers can probably tell from what I just said, I'm not very knowledgable in that area). As your problem sounds similar, you could try underclocking your GPU to see if that has any effect? Though I don't know if this is advisable or a good troubleshooting step, depends what the other more experienced users think.

I'd still try and test a better power supply. If you can get hold of a 600W or higher well known brand (e.g. Silverstone, Antec, possibly coolermaster etc.) you can try that. If you still have the same problems you can eliminate the PSU. Some PSUs actually put out more than advertised. A case in point would be the Antec 520W neo eco which I think can put out ~550ish.
 
Not familiar with that particular power supply or card. I am assuming the card is a single 6-pin connector. I would be curious if the PSU has dedicated PCI-e 6-pin power connector and if it's being used, or if an adapter is being used on an already taxed rail.
 
6870 would likely be a 2x 6pin. His PSU has 2 ~21a rails and a 6870 "requires" 28a and 500w. They give these numbers with the assumptions that majority of people are using cheap, inadequate PSUs. Your PSU is cheap and its ratings(which may not be accurate) are on the low end of the spectrum, possibly not even meeting the minimums.
When respectable companies put out a 700w psu, it's likely underrated and does 700w more efficiently. When a no name puts out a 700w psu, it could maybe put out 700w max. Think of it in terms of car audio. You have RMS and you have peak watts. Seasonic, sparkle, FSP, etc will give you nominal RMS ratings while xtremepower etc will show you the max peak numbers.
 
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I suspect it has something to do with your connection to or with the TV, because I have the same problem sometimes with my PS3 when I want to play GT5.
Sometimes snow, then no picture but sound and if I cycle through the HDMI sources and come back at the HDMI of my PS3 it's fine.
Can have something to do with the self scan function of HDMI.
If you can connect it VGA like nick09 said, or connect your PC to a regular TFT monitor, you can exclude this problem.
 
I had a similar problem with a ati card, whilst playing a game the screen would blank out and the I'd get the message 'no signal'. After about 15 seconds the screen would cycle through to power. I think mine was fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling the gpu drivers a few times, you could try and remove the catalyst software.
 

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